• Preface• Chronology• 1. The Toughest Boys in the Back Room• 2. Twenty-Minute Egg of the Hard-Boiled School• 3. The Love-Rack and the Wish-Come-True• 4. The American Character in Shadow• 5. Cain’s Craft• 6. Cain and the “Pure” Novel• 7. Impact of Cain and the Tough Guys• Notes and References• Selected Bibliography• Index